246 LUTHER BURBANK 



In striking contrast with the virility of the 

 Jacqueminot is the approximate sterility of the 

 hardy old-fashioned Persian rose. 



This has blossoms of the handsomest yellow 

 color, and on this account was regarded as a 

 desirable parent for hybridizing experiments, 

 notwithstanding that it blooms for only a short 

 season in the early summer. But not only does 

 the Persian rose itself fail to produce seed, but 

 its pollen seems to be sterile when applied to the 

 pistils of other flowers or fails to reveal its 

 character in the seedlings. For many years I 

 attempted to hybridize the Persian rose with the 

 Tea rose, Perpetuals, Banksias, Multifloras, 

 Bourbons, Wichurianas, and many others, but in 

 no case did I succeed in making a useful combina- 

 tion. Nor was the experiment more successful 

 when an attempt at a reciprocal cross was made. 

 The pistils of the Persian rose failed to respond 

 to the stimulus of pollen from whatever source. 

 So, of course, there was no strain of the Persian 

 rose in any of my hybrids. This variety has 

 seemingly reached a stage where it can appar- 

 ently be perpetuated only by division. 



Enough has been said to show that the rose is 

 a very tractable flower. Indeed, the very fact of 

 the number of its species and varieties sufficiently 

 attests its variability and receptivity. 



